War Poems | Poemist

Popular War Poems

My Inner Life

by Robert William Service

'Tis true my garments threadbare are,
And sorry poor I seem;
But inly I am richer far
Than any poet's dream.
For I've a hidden life no one
Can ever hope to see;
A sacred sanctuary none
May share with me.

Aloof I stand from out the strife,

......

The Female Of The Species

by Rudyard Kipling

When the Himalayan peasant meets the he-bear in his pride,
He shouts to scare the monster who will often turn aside.
But the she-bear thus accosted rends the peasant tooth and nail,
For the female of the species is more deadly than the male.

When Nag, the wayside cobra, hears the careless foot of man,
He will sometimes wriggle sideways and avoid it if he can,
But his mate makes no such motion where she camps beside the trail -
For the female of the species is more deadly than the male.

......

Leaves Of Grass. A Carol Of Harvest For 1867

by Walt Whitman

A SONG of the good green grass!
A song no more of the city streets;
A song of farms--a song of the soil of fields.

A song with the smell of sun-dried hay, where the nimble pitchers
handle the pitch-fork;
A song tasting of new wheat, and of fresh-husk'd maize.
For the lands, and for these passionate days, and for myself,
Now I awhile return to thee, O soil of Autumn fields,
Reclining on thy breast, giving myself to thee,

......

Give Me The Splendid, Silent Sun

by Walt Whitman

GIVE me the splendid silent sun, with all his beams full-dazzling;
Give me juicy autumnal fruit, ripe and red from the orchard;
Give me a field where the unmow'd grass grows;
Give me an arbor, give me the trellis'd grape;
Give me fresh corn and wheat--give me serene-moving animals, teaching
content;
Give me nights perfectly quiet, as on high plateaus west of the
Mississippi, and I looking up at the stars;
Give me odorous at sunrise a garden of beautiful flowers, where I can
walk undisturb'd;

......

Boots

by Rudyard Kipling

INFANTRY COLUMNS

We're foot--slog--slog--slog--sloggin' over Africa --
Foot--foot--foot--foot--sloggin' over Africa --
(Boots--boots--boots--boots--movin' up an' down again!)
There's no discharge in the war!

Seven--six--eleven--five--nine-an'-tw enty mile to-day --
Four--eleven--seventeen--thirty-two the day before --
(Boots--boots--boots--boots--movin' up an' down again!)

......

Recent War Poems

The bridge between war and peace

by Mario Odekerken

It begins in silence,
not the peace of harmony,
but the quiet after thunder,
where smoke still curls like questions.

Bootprints in dust,
empty helmets like hollow prayers,
this is where the bridge begins.

Not built of stone or steel,

......

Lunatics

by Lokenath Roy

albeit- you have deceived me
while- the candles at the end of the hall burn on black fumes; rising
notwithstanding- the graveyard which no one shall weep for
howbeit- a leg steps forward; an empire turns the screw
inside- a mind brimming with colours
closets- filled with crockeries wrapped in black glitter
jacket collars- washed off blood stains; it begins.
timed- the bedside receiver rings
gongs- like a distant radio rambling in an empty house
signed- with the guarantee of lying lips

......

Memories of War

by Ghairo Daniels

MEMORIES OF WAR

In prison we turmoiled
packed up cards to fall
whilst they sucked
genitals like bonbons
a quartz on a table
gleamed its knowing

......

A Crossroads for Iran

by Dr. Robert Ippaso

When missiles fly
The Mullahs lie
They bide their time
To turn the tide

Their constant bluster
Now short of luster
For why we ask
No God sent task

......

Rockets over Iran versus rockets over Israel

by Mario Odekerken

Rockets over Iran,a sky cracked with fire,
cities hushed beneath sirens, prayers rising
in smoke.
Rockets over Israel,walls trembling in the dark,
children sleep in shelters,dreams pierced by fear.

Different soil,same echo,
metal falls without a name,
and the earth forgets who started it.